Just in: Enigma Effusion

I first met Jim Walker and Mark Reilly, the duo behind Enigma, in 2006 when they exhibited their new range of titanium bikes at the London Cycle Show . They’ve come a long way in the last six years. The range has expanded much since then, and they’ve even added a few steel bikes.

But the Effusion, that's titanium. And a bit of carbon fibre. It fuses a 3AL 2.5V titanium frame with a carbon fibre wishbone seatstay assembly, the idea being to give you a smooth titanium ride with additional stiffness at the rear end.

So, who is it aimed at? Enigma say the bike is, “Equally at home in the peloton as it is in the longest sportive.” That sounds a fair description. Want a sharp and responsive titanium bike? The Effusion is probably it. It certainly looks sharp but not so sharp that it's going to bite your head off when you're not looking.

As with all Enigma bikes, it looks divine, especially in the optional full mirror polished finish (£450 extra) and classy understated decals. Titanium has a look all of its own and many crave a ti bike simply for its appearance. Enigma work hard to balance the desire for a classic aesthetic while still stamping their clean design over it.

The frame uses their double butted EST (Enigma Shape Technology) 3AL 2.5V tubeset with a huge ovalised down tube to deliver the necessary stiffness. Up front is a CNC-machined 6AL 4V integrated head tube, which sticks with tradition with 1 1/8in diameter throughout. There’s a regular sized bottom bracket and a stout seat tube that accepts a 31.6mm seat post to further contribute to the frame's stiffness. Weight for a naked frame is a claimed 1.3kg (2.86lbs).

You can choose from five stock sizes. This here is a 56 and it has parallel 73 degree head and seat tube angles. The head tube measures 16.5cm, the chainstays 40.9cm and the bottom bracket height is 26.5cm.

Enigma will sell you an off-the-peg bike or you can go custom and have a frame built exactly to your liking. They’re very flexible when it comes to building the bike and offer a vast range of choices, so you can get the details absolutely spot on using their online bike builder. You can choose the stem length, handlebar width and other details.

We asked Enigma to send us an Effusion but didn’t specify the exact build, we left that to them. Ours wears a full Campagnolo Record 11-speed groupset with Enigma’s own carbon stem and seat post and aluminium handlebar. The saddle and bar tape are Enigma's own too, as are the carbon fibre fork and headset. Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels are fitted with Continental GP4000 tyres for an all-up cost of £4,220. The weight is 7.5kg (16.53lbs) on the nose.

David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.

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michophull[139 posts]4 years ago

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Very smart. As a matter of interest, can titanium frames be painted or powder coated ?